Keeping up Appearances
by Madame Elodie
Summary: When Rose has to go home due to a family emergency, she pursuades the Doctor to come with her. R&R! Please!
1. Chapter 1

Keeping up appearances

"Mum, slow down!" Rose Tyler said worriedly into the phone.

"Mum, it's okay, tell me what's wrong. " Rose gasped and let out a sob. "No! NO! How? That's terrible. Oh my god. No!"

The Doctor looked up to see his young female assistant _'companion, she prefers companion',_ crying down the phone. She hung up shakily and sank down on the floor.

"Rose?" apparent concern flooded the Time Lord's face. Rose looked up and felt a wash of comfort as she saw the worried puppy-dog look in the Doctor's brown eyes.

"My…um…" She sobbed again, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"My uncle has just died. He was like a dad to me. 'e were always there when I needed 'im. He is…. was me mum's brother. I need to go back for the funeral. Mum needs me."

"I understand Rose." A look of sympathy was in his eyes that Rose knew was only surface deep. She was touched all the same; he was trying, after all.

"Would you, please, well, come with me?" She asked hopefully.

"To the FUNERAL!" The Doctor spat. He looked into Rose's eyes and saw a deep pain. The pain of loss.

"Okay." He sighed. He knew this wasn't going to be a pleasurable experience.

The friends and family of Robbie Prentice stood around the graveside. Everyone there recognised each other. There was Jackie; weeping her eyes out next to her was Rose. Then there was Robbie's girlfriend Cheryl. Besides her were aunt Doris and aunt Anna. Next to them were Robbie's mother and Robbie's uncle, Bill. Next to them were various friends and acquaintances of Robbie including his boss, Mr Townsend, Rose's friend Shareen and her family, and various aunts and cousins. They all formed a circle around his grave. Yes, everyone knew one another, except, for the dark haired stranger standing next to Rose. Seeing as he was unknown to the crowds, he was assumed to be the 'new bloke' Jackie had said Rose had found herself.

When the congregation moved to go back to Jackie's flat, many of the old women, who had moments earlier been distraught with grief, were now deliriously happy to have something new to gossip about.

Back at Jackie's flat, Shareen waited until Rose was alone before she pounced.

"Come on then."

"What?" Rose asked with a truthful innocence.

"Come on then tell me, who's the hot guy?"

"Oh." Rose knew who she was talking about, but wanted to annoy her friend first.

"That's my uncle Gerald. A dear for 85, a party animal when he's got his walking stick."

"Very funny Rose. I mean the Cutie you've been around all day. The tall dark and handsome one!"

"Oh. Then you probably mean the Doctor. Um, Dr John Smith, that is."

"Oh." Shareen smiled. "So you're dating him?"

Before Rose could respond, The Doctor walked into the room.

"Rose, it turns out that your mum has told everyone that you and I are an item!" The Doctor looked outraged, but a twinkle in his eyes told Rose otherwise.

"So you're not together then?" Shareen asked.

"No, we are. We just didn't want anyone to know." Rose quickly led the Doctor outside, leaving a confused Shareen in the kitchen.

An equally confused Doctor followed Rose to her bedroom.

"WHAT?" he gawped at her.

"I'm sorry, but come on! My mum hates you! She would never say that we were together unless she had a very good reason." Rose couldn't figure out what it was though.

The Doctor mumbled something in response.

"So could you please play along? Just for today, then we'll get an answer from my mum." She looked at him, a look of pleading in her eyes. His hearts each did a little somersault, he was secretly rather tempted by this idea. _'Cant let feelings like that leak out. Have to try harder to suppress them.'_

"Okay. S'pose" he tried to sound as though she'd talked him round, but she could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn't think it was a devastating problem.

Rose and The Doctor walked back out into the kitchen to find Jackie and Shareen there talking to a group of old ladies.

"Ah, Rose, love there you are. I was just telling this lot about you and John. I was telling them about how you met." Jackie looked guiltily at her daughter.

"Oh Jackie, do tell all. I'm sure everyone's craving to find out." The Doctor said, a sarcastic flare in his tone.

"Yes, well as I was saying," she turned back to the old ladies who were scanning the Doctor, their eyes filled with suspicion, "Rose met John at that department store she worked at, he took her away and they've been travelling ever since."

"Travelling?" Aunt Doris interrupted

"Yeah, Travelling. All over the place. Yeah." Rose stammered.

"He's a little OLD for you Rose." Rose's grandmother glared at the Doctor. "You're only nineteen. Jackie, I'm ashamed of you letting Rose go around with a man old enough, daresay, to be her father!"

'_I'm old enough to be her great, great, great, great, great, great, great…'_

The Doctor's thoughts were interrupted when Rose's grandmother started crying uncontrollably.

"Robbie wouldn't let her do a thing like that!"

The Doctor looked at the bizarre and slightly over dramatic scene in front of him. The old women now started to blubber and well up. Rose looked at the Doctor and tried to stifle a laugh when the women retreated back to the living room. Rose smiled.

"All that stuff mum said, it sort of sounds nice. Normal."

"You wish it had been like that?"

Rose thought for a moment. She shook her head.

"I much prefer being chased by monsters and finding new planets with you!"

This made the Doctor smile. His smile quickly evaporated when an elderly man came into the room.

"John, I've come in here to congratulate you and Rose on your engagement. I'm sure you'll make an honest man out of her."

The Doctor turned around dazed.

"What?" the man gifted with words finally managed to say.

"I dunno." Rose looked worried.

They walked into the living room to find everyone greeting them with smiles.

"Well, I thought it was a little impractical, Jackie telling us about your engagement at a funeral, but congratulations all the same." Rose's grandmother smiled.

A chorus of congratulations filled the room.

The Doctor looked back at Rose.

"We'll question Jackie about this tomorrow," He whispered.

Then he kissed her. A kiss that she returned. The feelings that she had so purposefully suppressed were let out, all mingling into that one kiss. When they broke away, it took Rose a minute to clear her mind.

"What was that for?" She whispered.

"Well, I thought for today, we need to be keeping up appearances."


	2. Appearances can be deceiving

Appearances can be deceiving

A funeral wasn't enough for Jackie Tyler; she had to have an engagement as well. Only five hours after the funeral of Robbie Prentice, Jackie's brother, Jackie had announced that The Doctor and Rose were engaged. Now, as they sat in the kitchen of Jackie's council flat, Jackie explained why she had said such truly strange things earlier.

"It's not enough that you said the Doctor and I are together, but to say that we're ENGAGED!" Rose was pacing the lino, looking up now and again to see the Doctor, standing awkwardly in the corner of the room, staring distantly into space, an untouched cup of tea in his right hand.

"I'm sorry love, but your grandmother wasn't giving me much choice. The old bag was starting to say awful things about you." Jackie sighed. Rose shushed her mum and closed the door.

"She's in the other room you know."

Jackie sighed again. The Doctor still hadn't said a word. Rose exhaled loudly.

"What are we going to do?" Just then, Rose's grandmother walked into the room.

"I have decided. To take my mind temporarily away from my grief, I will organise an engagement party for Rose and John. Mai was thinking that I could even organise the Wedding!"

At this the Doctor dropped his teacup, spilling the contents across Jackie's kitchen floor.

"Well, John. You'll have to be more careful when you and Rose have a home of your own."

"WEDDING? No one said anything about a WEDDING!" Rose could tell that the Doctor was panicking. Rose's grandmother laughed.

"Well, you can't be engaged if you're not going to get married. Come to think of it. Rose, I think I'm going to give you my engagement ring."

Rose looked stunned.

"No! I don't want any arguments. My mind is made up. Jackie I think I'm going to bed. I'll be using your room of course. Goodnight!"

With that, Grandma Prentice walked out of the Kitchen, leaving three very stunned people behind her.

"Wedding…" the Doctor repeated.

"MUM! You can't let this happen!" Rose was close to tears.

"I don't think that I can do anything. You know I've never had any effect on my mum. It was always Robbie…" Jackie sobbed a little, a few tears rolling down her cheeks and smudging her mascara.

"Wedding…" The Doctor seemed to be somewhat in a state of shock.

Rose glared at her mother.

"I'll sort this out in the morning."

Breakfast the next morning was silent. The only noises to be heard were those made by Grandma Prentice chewing. _'Those dentures' _Rose thought _'more trouble than they're worth.'_

After breakfast The Doctor and Jackie were told to leave the kitchen by Rose, who was working up to confronting her grandmother.

"You'll only put me off." She'd said.

As soon as they'd left the room she braced herself. _'This is it! I CAN do this!' _ Ever since she was a little girl, she'd been scared of grandma Prentice. She had made up stories with her teddies that included Grandma Prentice coming to eat them. She felt like that now. She felt like she was a lonely old Teddy bear that had been left behind and could now hear the sound of the predator Grandmother coming to eat her up.

"You've been awfully quite dear. Is something on your mind?" Grandma Prentice attempted a smile, flashing her dentures in a way reminiscent of the wolf grandma in Little Red Riding hood.

"Grandma, there's something I need to tell you." Rose held her tongue. She'd come this far she couldn't turn back now.

"TheDoctorandiarenttogether.Wenevergotengaged, mummadeitallup."

"What?" Rose sighed. She knew she'd said everything quickly, however she didn't know it was inaudible.

"Who's the _Doctor?_"

"Oh. John. THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE A WEDDING! MUM MADE IT ALL UP!" Blood rushed to Rose's brain. She had only just realised that she was shouting.

"Well." Grandma Prentice said, a look of sheer disappointment in her eyes.

"You LIED to me! A woman who has just lost her son, a woman who is struck by grief and despair, who had put all of her trust and happiness in her granddaughter's wedding, only to have it ripped away from her, a woman who…"

"Oh give over!" Rose interrupted her grandmother, "That's not you! Don't make me feel bad! I've lost someone too you know! And you know what? You can try and be nicer to my mum! She's a widow, her brother and father are dead and she has YOU sticking your poisonous little Denture filled mouth in!"

"And that kiss last night? That kiss between you and John? What was that all about?"

"We were just keeping up appearances."

Later, in the safety of the TARDIS, The Doctor and Rose discussed what had happened.

"Your mother had me folding washing!" The Doctor moaned, when Rose had asked what he'd done when she'd made him vacate the room. "And hovering!" The latter, Rose didn't believe.

"I was thinking…"

"Oh No. Now what are you going to do? Take over morocco?" The Doctor teased.

"It's true. People can pretend as much as they want. They can deny what they are really feeling. Appearances are deceiving. You've got to look further to see what doesn't always appear."

"And?" The Doctor asked, now a little bit worried.

"And I'm tired. I'm going to bed." Rose got up and winked at the Doctor.

Now he was in trouble. After all, he knew what she was implying, but Appearances can be deceiving.


	3. Things May Appear Smaller

**It's been a long time, I know. But while I've mostly lost the creative bug, this niggled at the back of my head to be written. It's only short, but I think it's a fitting conclusion to the story I started so long ago. So here you go, enjoy, and please review to let me know if it was at all worth the wait.**

* * *

"Where are we going?" Rose Tyler asked as darts flew past them. The Doctor grabbed her hand and grinned at her, his eyes crinkling as they began to sprint down the long corridor. He'd promised her a trip to see a real-life Wonderland after the fiasco at her uncle's funeral; what he hadn't counted on was the feral tribe of playing cards that didn't particularly like tourists to come to their planet.

"Do you doubt that I know where I'm going?"

Rose grinned at him, "always".

The Doctor swooped down for a quick kiss, as they turned a corner. Another dart flew past his ear, but he wasn't too worried.

"Sensible girl", he said as they parted, "Now... where did I leave the TARDIS?"

Life had been wonderful for Rose since the events of her uncle's wake, when her mother had told all of her close friends and family that she and the Doctor were getting married. Of course they weren't, but her mother had needed something to say regarding their rather strange living situation. You couldn't very well go and tell everyone that you're living with a 900 year old alien in a flying police box, which is bigger on the inside than the outside, and, as of two days ago, sleeping with said alien.

They turned another corner and saw the TARDIS standing, proudly, welcoming at the end of the corridor. The ground shook as hundreds of six-foot playing cards wearing boots ran after them, hot on their tail. Clutching each other's hands they ran the last few feet to safety, dodging the darts thrown by the cards. The Doctor shoved his key into the lock and threw open the door, ushering Rose in, before slamming the door shut after him.

Rose let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding. Sometimes with the Doctor, it was easy to forget that there could be real danger – that the running playing cards really could kill her.

The Doctor flipped a few switches on the console and before she knew it they were drifting somewhere in time. He ran a hand through his hair and grinned at her. She returned the grin.

"That was a bit close" he said, moving over to her and enveloping her in a hug. She let her nose become pressed into his jacket. He slowly released her and captured her mouth in a kiss. Her mind still reeled that it was okay to kiss the Doctor – that they felt the same way about each other. For that, she would always thank her mum. In fact, she thought, she should probably do that.

Pulling away, she looked into his eyes, "I want to go and see my mum". She moved away from him towards the console, turning to face him as she leaned against a pillar. A small grin toyed at the edges of her mouth. He stared at her.

"I snog you, and the first thing you think about is your mum? Not quite sure how to take that..." he said, trailing a hand across the hair at the nape of his neck, "Why?"

"I want to talk to her. So much has changed since we last spoke, and I want to thank her for it. It's partly her fault," Rose said. The Doctor moved towards the controls of the console, his eyebrows drawn together. "Fair point..." he said, before turning some dials, "Powell Estate it is, then..."

"And besides, she's still just lost her brother... I feel a little bad about running off like that the other day", Rose sighed, "she must still be grieving".

"As long as I don't have to fold any more laundry... That's far worse than being chased by playing cards", the Doctor flipped a few more switches and the TARDIS began to materialize. Rose grabbed a hoodie lying on the railings of the ramp, and zipped it up to cover the stains on her T-shirt – the Jabberwocky, Rose had discovered, almost didn't like visitors as much as the playing cards. She had no idea how Alice had survived so long...

"Ready?" the Doctor asked, holding out his hand to her. She nodded, and bounded over to him next to the door. She reached up and gave him a quick peck on the lips, before stepping out into the cool London day.

* * *

Jackie was delighted to see them.

"I'd figured I wouldn't see you for at least a few months, especially after that stunt I played. I'm sorry", she said as she led them into the kitchen. She asked them what they had been up to and how long it had been since the funeral for them.

"It's been about the same as you," Rose smiled, "I wanted to see you."

"That's nice, darling. You keeping her safe?" She said, her tone changing to one of protection as she spoke to the Doctor. He nodded, looking slightly hesitant at being in the flat. Ridiculous, Rose had always thought, that the man who struck fear into the hearts of millions, was terrified of her mum.

"Mum," Rose said, "I wanted to tell you that the Doctor and I are together. You're stunt at the funeral allowed us to see what we really want, and to own up to our feelings. We wanted to thank you."

"Thank me?" Jackie said, slightly dumbfounded. "Thank me? How dare you?"

Rose looked up, sharply. "Mum? What do you mean? This is good news, isn't it? You told everyone at the funeral that we were engaged..."

"It doesn't mean I want you to be sleeping with him! That's disgusting! He's old, Rose, very old! And an alien!"

"Hey!" the Doctor said, standing up, "I'm still here, you know."

"I know. You take my daughter off to dangerous world, turn her head with your big blue box and then have your way with her! Well, no, mister. I won't allow it!" Jackie stood up, moving over to the doorway. Rose followed her.

"Mum, it's not like that! I thought you'd be ok with it..."

"Well, you thought wrong. It's Jimmy Stone all over again!"

"It is not Jimmy Stone all over again!" Rose pleaded, grabbing at her mother's hand. Jackie snatched her hand away, before shaking her head. "No, at least Jimmy was human."

"Is that what this is all about? Because the Doctor's not human? He's so much more than human, mum. He's amazing and I love him".

"You love him?" Jackie asked. The Doctor came to stand by the doorframe. His face was unreadable as Rose took his hand.

"Yes, mum, I love him".

"And I love her," the Doctor said, squeezing her hand and smiling. Jackie shook her head and went into the kitchen to make a cup of tea, reminding them as she went that she still was not happy.

Later, as they were leaving, Rose said to the Doctor, "You know, I thought from her attitude the other day that she'd take it better..."

"Yeah, well," said the Doctor, "things aren't always as they appear..."

Laughing, they strolled across the courtyard to the big blue box tucked neatly around a corner. Looking back at her flat, Rose realised that while it didn't appear to be much, that box was home.

And it was where hear heart belonged.


End file.
